Constant of electron impact ionization in a weakly ionized argon plasma in crossed \(E \times B\) fields (Q2380138)

A theoretical model is proposed to calculate the electron energy distribution function, the average electron energy and the constant of electron impact ionization of atoms for an argon plasma. Both elastic and inelastic collisions are considered for the electrons moving in crossed \(E\times B\) fields. It is shown that the electron energy distribution differens strongly from the Maxwellian one for no magnetic field but for strong magnetic fields it apprioximates the Maxwellian distribution asymptotically.